THE EXHIBITION OF 1862. 
187 
ware or jewellery as adorns the older settlements is here to he 
met with; but the conspicuous articles are raw cotton and 
wools. Of the former there are several beautiful specimens, some 
grown from the Sea Island seed, which is equal in value to that 
imported into Liverpool from Hew Orleans; and the wool is 
remarkable for its long silky fibre, and is chiefly from the 
Mauchamp breed of sheep. The staple of one very prominent 
specimen of wool is nearly six inches in length. 
The woods of Queensland are also interesting-, and their uses 
various ; those which are exhibited being chiefly employed in 
cabinet-making; but, as just remarked, the young colony, 
although it gives great signs of promise, cannot yet compete 
with its older neighbours ; and we shall now leave it for the 
purpose of inspecting the contributions of 
South Australia. The most beautiful specimens of wheat 
of any that we have met with in our little tour through the 
colonies were shown to us in this court. One sample weighed 
above sixty-eight pounds to the bushel, and the flour pro- 
duced from it was of unexceptionable quality. Almost as fine 
was the barley, and more interesting than either, the implement 
employed for their harvesting*. The “ reaper ” which is exhi- 
bited in this court is certainly an unwieldy machine compared 
with those employed in England (not that they are very 
elegant) ; but then it reaps, gathers, thrashes, and winnows, — 
a series of operations in the performance of which our less 
aspiring agriculturists are satisfied to employ three different 
machines. This complicated implement is rendered necessary 
by the scarcity of labourers in the colony ; and how it fulfils 
its various duties we are, for obvious reasons, unable to inform 
our readers. 
If the vegetable productions of South Australia be interesting, 
equally so are its minerals ; amongst which may be mentioned 
the malachite, of which crude specimens, as well as those 
wrought into objects of vertu, are remarkably conspicuous. 
Although not strictly coming within the scope of our obser- 
vations, we may refer, lastly, to the interesting ornaments 
formed of emu eggs, beautifully mounted in silver. Two 
emus in chased silver support the fine ebony-like egg upon 
their backs, and on the top of the egg stand two natives, also 
wrought in silver. 
These and other similar ornaments speak well for the taste 
and ingenuity of the colonial artificers ; and we could find themes 
amongst these beautiful articles of vertu for many laudatory 
observations. We must, however, travel on until we get to 
Western Australia, concerning which we shall have a word or 
two to say before quitting this great section of our empire. 
The Commissioners of Western Australia have so ably 
o 2 
